An Honest Look at Bovada in 2018

One of the tricky things about online gambling is navigating the sea of online gambling sites.

The ocean is full of them. Some are friendly schools of fish and dolphins. Others …are sharks. But unlike actual dolphins and sharks, it’s hard to tell which sites are friendlies and which want to seek their teeth into you.

This couldn’t be truer for American online gamblers.

US gamblers have to play at offshore sites. Most are licensed and regulated, sure, but not by the US government. There’s little realistic or reasonable recourse if and when you’re ripped off.

These waters are far murkier to swim in than international waters. Which is why you should join a legit and trustworthy site. Nothing else matters; not the games, not the promotions or banking options; nothing matters if you’re splashing around in shark infested waters.

Bovada’s Sports, Betting Options & Limits

Bovada has one of the largest and diverse selections of betting markets for US bettors.

Here are the markets you can bet on:

Baseball

Soccer

Tennis

Basketball

UFC/MMA

Golf

Football

Hockey

Cricket

Horse racing

Boxing

Motor sports

eSports

Olympic games

Politics

Rugby

Snooker

Cycling

Volleyball

Aussie rules

Handball

They offer all sorts of bets. You can make live bets on outcomes like who will get a hit next, who will catch the next pass, strike out or throw an incomplete pass. But you can also make normal pre-game straight bets, parlays, props, spreads, moneylines and futures.

eSports an Emerging Trend Bovada’s Focusing On

eSports is an area we’ve been paying attention to recently. The industry in 2016, a 51% increase from the previous year.

Naturally, sportsbooks have started to pay attention. That includes Bovada. They’ve been taking action on eSports matches for about 1-2 years now. Currently they offer odds on the following games:

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

Dota 2

League Of Legends

Starcraft

Halo

It’s possible these options change as some matches or seasons come and go.

One thing they don’t do well, I think, is allow you to filter based on league or tournament. You have to choose which game you want to focus on first, before you can filter down to league or tournament. For example, once I choose Counter-Strike, I’m then able to choose ESL One: Cologne, Hellcase Cup or European Minor Championship 2017. These should be top-level choices.

The other thing I’m not seeing, but think I should, is the option to bet live. So far, I’ve only seen the option available on international (non-US) betting sites. So, why doesn’t Bovada? They don’t offer live streaming, either – in-house, Twitch or otherwise.

The last thing I’m seeing, but don’t quite care for, is that the one match I’m able to compare to other US sportsbooks, Bovada’s a little stingier on their pricing. But that’s only for one match, and not necessarily an indication of all their (eSports) lines.

Despite all that, they’re still the strongest eSports option I’ve seen so far available to US bettors. The reason for that, so far, simply boils down to the quantity of matches/games/leagues covered.

Betting Limits, Dual Pricing and Common Complaints

The minimum bet is $1. And you can place your bet from all major devices including desktop computers, laptops, smartphones and tablets.

That’s the good news. Now let’s talk a bit about where they may be average, or where they fall short.

For one thing, their max bets range from $100 to a couple thousand, depending on the market and bet you’re trying to make. This might be okay for most recreational players, but large spenders and/or professionals will probably want to check out Bookmaker instead.

Experts also complain about the late lines and dual pricing. But Bovada does this because they choose to focus on recreational players.

Pat Morrow, the head NFL odds maker at Bovada, recently . Here’s what he had to say about their late lines:

“We get this one a lot and its dictated largely by our player base. Because our players are more of the recreational variety (smaller bets with bets coming closer to game time), we don’t traditionally see a lot of handle, especially in relation to our game day handle when we post early. In terms of raw numbers, ~80% of our wagering for an NFL event comes in about an hour before it kicks off.”

Chances are most recreational players won’t notice or care.

Now, as far as their dual pricing –

Experts say they offer two rates – one for recreational players and another for professionals. Recreational players will get the better prices – which may not be more than half a point or a full point different. But that adds up when you’re talking about betting thousands of dollars over the lifetime of your account.

So, if Bovada thinks you’re a competent bettor, they’ll give you the more expensive pricing. Experts say that, if you plan to find and exploit opportunities, you should take full advantage of whatever you find on your first bet. Because after that they’ll probably have you pegged.

And …that’s about it.

The worst part about Bovada’s sportsbook is that they’re not as pro-friendly as other books, between their betting limits, late or more expensive lines. Only a small percentage of bettors will probably care, though. If you’re one of them, you’ll probably want to get an account at a site like Bookmaker, too.

Casino Games, Variations and Mobile Options

Bovada’s casino is strong. What we like about them is there are lots of game variations that you won’t find elsewhere. And they’ve only gotten stronger in this area as they’ve brought on additional software partners and upgraded their site.

Let’s look at (or, at least most of) their games, along with any pros and cons we see.

Blackjack Games

Blackjack

Double Deck Blackjack

European Blackjack

Perfect Pair

Single Deck Blackjack

Zappit Blackjack

They seem to have fewer blackjack variations than I remember seeing from them in the past. Even then they offer more than the likes of Top Bet, and have just as many as BetOnline and Planet 7s.

Card Games

American Roulette

Baccarat

Caribbean Hold’Em

Caribbean Stud Poker

Casino Battle

Classic American Roulette

Classic Craps

Classic European Roulette

Craps

European Roulette

Let ‘Em Ride

Pai Gow Poker

Red Dog

Tri Card Poker

Vegas Three Card Rummy

Not much to report here. They have a good selection of table games.

If we HAD to find a downside, it’d be that Bovada doesn’t yet offer any live dealer games. That would certainly take their blackjack and card game section to another level.

Slots

8 Lucky Charms

5 Times Wins Progressive

8 Lucky Charmsgressive

A Day at the Derby

A Switch in Time

All Aboard

Arabian Tales

Ares : The Battle of Troy

As the Reels Turn 1

As the Reels Turn 2

As the Reels Turn 3

Astral Luck

Atomic Age

Aussie Rules

Aztec’s Treasure

Baby Boomers: Cash Cruise

Best of Luck

Big Cash Win

Big Money Bigfoot

Birds of Fury

Blazin’ Buffalo

Bowled Over

Bulletproof Babes

Bust-A-Vault

Caesar’s Empire

Candy Cottage

Cash Money Mermaids

Cash Money Mermaids

Catsino

Champs Élysées

Chicken Little

Cirque du Slots

Cleopatra’s Coins

Cleopatra’s Gold

Coins of Olympus

Cosmic Quest I : Mission Control

Cosmic Quest II : Mystery Planets

Costume Party

Crazy Camel Cash

Cream Of The Crop

Crystal Waters

Demi Gods

Derby Dollars

Desert Kingdom

Diamond Cherries

Diamond Dazzle

Diamond Dozen

Diamonds Downunder

Diggin’ Deep

Dino Island

Dirty Martini

DJ Moo Cow

Dog Pound Dollars

Doo Wop Daddy-O

Dragon Princess

Dragons

Eggstravaganza

El Luchador

Fantastic Fruit

Fantasy Fortune

Fast Lane

Firestorm 7

Fixer Upper

Flea Market

Flying Colors

Food Fight

Football Frenzy

For Love & Money

Forbidden Slot

Fortune Keepers

Frogged

Fruit Frenzy

Future Fortunes

Gladiator Wars

Global Cup Soccer

Gnome Sweet Home

Gobblers Gold

Goblin’s Gold

Gold Rush

Goldbeard

Golden Gorilla

Goldenman

Grandma’s Attic

Gushers Gold

Heavyweight Gold

Hercules The Immortal

Heroes Realm

Hobo’s Hoard

Hole in Won

Hydro Heat

Ice Picks

Indiana Jane

Invasion

Jack the Ripper

Jacques Pot: Gourmet Slot

Japan-O-Rama

Jenny Nevada & The Diamond Temple

Jolly Roger’s

Leonardo’s Loot

Lion’s Lair

Lion’s Roar

Loco 7’s

Lost Secret of Atlantis

Major Moolah

Mega Wins

Metal Detector

Midway Madness

Milk the Cash Cow

Mister Money

Money Magic

Moonlight Mystery

Moonshiner’s Moolah

Mystic Wolf

Nuclear Fishin’

Ocean Treasure

One Million BC

Opera Night

Panda Party

Pigskin Payout

Pistols & Roses

Pond of Koi

Precious Treasures

Psychedelic Sixties

Pub Crawlers

Queen Of Kings

Rain Dance

Red Sands

Red, White & Bleu

Reel Blood

Reel Circus

Reel Crime 1: Bank Heist

Reel Crime 2: Art Heist

Reel Fighters

Reel of Fortune

Reel Party

Reel Party Platinum

Rise of Poseidon

Rock On

Roll out the Barrels

Ronin

Scary Rich

Scary Rich 2

Scary Rich 3

Secret Garden

Sevens & Stripes

Sevens and Bars

Shamrock Isle

Sherwood Forest Fortunes

Shopping Spree

Silver Unicorn

Six Shot Showdown

Snow White & The Poison Apple

Snow Wonder

So 80’s

Soccer Babes

Spartan Warrior

Spy Game

Star Jewels

Strike Gold

Summer Ease

Super Diamond Mine

Surf Paradise

Swinging Sweethearts

Tahiti Time

Tea Cup Dragons

Ten Times Wins

The Back Nine

Thunderbird

Tiger Treasures

Travel Bug

Treasure Island

Tycoon Towers

Vintage Vegas

Wacky Wedding

Watch the Birdie

Western Wildness

Whale O’ Winnings

Wheel of Cash

Wild Carnival

Wild Safari

Wild Wild Spin

Win Mill

Windy Farm

Winter Wonders

Witches and Wizards

World of Oz

Zombies Vs Cheerleaders

Zombies Vs Cheerleaders II

Zombiezee Money

What we like about their slots section is all the variety. You’ll be able to choose from options like:

Our biggest complaint here is you won’t find any licensed slots. Think slots based on actual movies, video games, comic books, celebrities and more. But that’s just the lay of the land – because Bovada is an offshore casino catering (illegally) to American players. Which eliminates the possibility of working with software companies like Microgaming or IGT who offers these types of slot machines.

But it’s a minor complaint considering all that they DO offer.

Video Poker

Bonus deuces wild

Bonus poker

Bonus poker deluxe

Deuces wild

Double bonus poker

Double double bonus poker

Double double jackpot poker Double jackpot poker

Jacks or better – 1, 3, 10 and 52 hands

Joker poker

Loose deuces

No much to report here. This is a solid selection of video poker games. It’s also great to see that some of them, like jacks or better, can be played in multi-hand variations.

Specialty Games

30 ball Bingo

80 ball Bingo

American Bingo

Beach Bums

Cast for Cash

Cavalier Cash

European Bingo

Gunslinger’s Gold Itchin’ 2 Win

Keno

Penguin Payday

Pirates Pilage

Sudoku Box

Tiki Treasure

Again, not much to report here. This is a decent selection of ‘other’ games if you’re more a fan of scratch tickets, bingo or keno.

Mobile Games

They have lots of mobile games now, too. More so than I remember them having a year or two ago. I think that’s because when they redid their site, they likely used HTML5 or some other mobile-friendly programming language. Their entire site is mobile responsive – no app, special mobile site or download needed.

For that reason you’ll find they have LOTS of mobile games. Far too many to list here, which would only be a list of duplicates from the lists we posted above. Overall, they have a super-strong online casino. Easily one of the best available to American players.

One thing I am REALLY impressed with is how it no longer appears they’re working with software company Betsoft. Betsoft was in the news (along with Betcoin) for rigging their progressive jackpots and not paying a player who hit one.

This was in the news mere months ago – and it wasn’t long before then, if not around that time – that Bovada was still working with them. To see them pull Betsoft’s games off their site shows integrity.

And if you know anything about offshore US-friendly casinos, you know integrity is in short supply. And if you don’t believe me, just take a look around at the casinos who STILL work with Betsoft.

Bovada Poker Room

Background Story

Back in 2004, there was a small poker site launched under the name of Bodog by billionaire Calvin Ayre. After serving the online poker industry for about 12 years, this platform easily became a top 5 poker site in the world. Eventually, the company split into two different sites for their American customers due to legal reasons in August of 2016. These two sites are known as Ignition and Bovada.

During the time of this split, Bovada was supposed to handle the sportsbook and casino bets for American Players, while Ignition was meant to handle the poker traffic. Even though they are serving the USA, they still do not allow players to sign-up from the states of New York, New Jersey, Delaware Maryland or Nevada. They sent out a warning email to players in these states to withdraw their funds because they will be closed accounts based in these states on October 2nd, 2017.

In August of 2017, they changed Bovada by adding in its own poker room. However, the Bovada poker room is essentially the same poker site as Ignition Poker. They both have the exact same tournaments and cash games available on both sites, the only minor differences are in the VIP Clubs and the software graphics.

Gaming Experience

Bovada is by far the #1 option for US players to play on since the field sizes are huge in their tournaments, and the competition extremely soft. It is very tough to find another poker site in the USA that can match Bovada’s poker room in these 2 categories.

As far as game selection goes, they leave a little bit to be desired. The only 3 games that you can play in the poker room are No Limit Hold’em, Pot Limit Omaha, and Omaha Hi/Lo. It is true that these are 3 of the most popular poker games in the world, but most sites offer far more games than this. Another unique feature of this site that is beneficial to beginners is the fact that there are no screennames. Every player is issued a player number, and they keep that number as their player name for the duration of each tournament or cash game.

This means that any notes you take on a player will disappear immediately when the sessions or tournament is over, and every player gets to start over with a fresh image every time they play. This greatly benefits recreational players because they cannot be followed by professionals and no one will ever know what their tendencies are at the start of each session.

Stakes

When we looked at the range of betting stakes that are offered, we were very pleased as there seems to be something for everyone. The Sit and go tournaments vary in buy-in from $1 to $200. The cash games range from $0.02/$0.05 all the way up to $10/$20 blinds. The multi table tournaments range from $1 all the way up to $500 during some special tournament series. The zone poker tables range from $0.02/$0.05 up to $1/$2. In addition to all of this, they include freerolls for those players that are suffering from a low bankroll but still want to see some flops.

Zone Poker

Zone Poker is a special type of game that is offered in the cash game format only. The unique feature of this game is that whenever a player folds their hand, they are immediately moved to another table and instantly dealt another hand. This allows each player to play about 3 times more hands per hour than usual. Some other sites offer zone-style tournaments as well, and we would love to see Bovada implement this eventually.

Multi-Table Tournaments

The multi table tournament schedule on Bovada is hands down the best schedule available to US players on the entire internet. Even though the poker room is determined to cater to recreational players, there are enough tournaments for professional players to play a full tournament schedule every day. Fortunately, all tournaments are shared with the players on their sister skin Ignition, helping the site maintain the highest traffic in the USA right now. Below we have listed the major daily tournaments in chronological order.

$44 buy-in, $5,000 guaranteed at 14:00

$27.50 buy-in, $3,000 guaranteed at 15:00

$33 buy-in, $4,000 guaranteed at 16:00

$11 buy-in, $5,000 guaranteed at 16:15

$55 buy-in, $25,000 guaranteed at 17:00

$11 buy-in, $8,000 guaranteed at 17:45

$55 buy-in, $8,000 guaranteed at 18:15

$109 buy-in, $10,000 guaranteed at 19:00

$75 buy-in, $5,000 guaranteed (Thousandaire Maker)

These tournaments are all freezeouts with standard payout structures, except for the Thousandaire Maker which pays out in $1,000 increments for every $1,000 in the prize pool. There are buy-in levels for everyone, and it is very possible to win a lot of money in one day for a minimal investment. Sundays and Wednesdays are especially large on Bovada, and they offer numerous special tournaments that are not available on other days of the week.

Sunday’s being bigger than normal is standard across the industry, and the main tournament to watch for is the $100,000 guaranteed that costs $162 to get in. Wednesday being huge is a product of their ongoing Wild Wednesday tournament schedule, and it’s safe to say that the buy-ins and prize pools vary wildly.

Bonuses and Promotions

Bovada is known for being a little light on the promotional side of things when it comes to their poker room. They do at least offer a 100% Poker Welcome Bonus which is good for up to $500 on every player’s first deposit. The main reward for poker players on Bovada is the poker points. These points accumulate with every game we play, to the tune of 3 points for every 1$ in rake that we paid.

The points can then be traded in for either poker tournament tickets, casino bonuses, or sports bonuses. The sports bonus is a fresh new edition and is a great idea because a lot of poker players happen to bet on sports as well. If we were tasked with improving the promotions on Bovada, we would implement a tiered VIP system that gives players incentive to play more. As it stands right now, Bovada is dead last in the poker industry when it comes to giving frequent players rewards, and this is a direct result of their controversial business plan of appealing to strictly recreational players.

Another way they could greatly improve the poker tournaments on their site is to bring back the tournament leader board. They used to give amazing prizes for the best poker players on the site, but they got rid of this feature back in 2010 for some reason.

Software

As longtime users of Bovada’s poker room, we can confirm that their software needs improvement and it seems to get worse after some updates. For example, after the latest update, the font in the lobby is now blurry and nearly unreadable from a short distance. They also changed the tables so that they cannot be sized as small as they used to.

They most likely did this to keep professional players from playing a lot of tables at once. However, this logic would be silly on their part as the site maximum for number of tables running at once is still set at 15. One great thing about this poker room is that even though the servers crash often and tournaments get cancelled before they are finished, they successfully pay everyone the money that their chip stack was worth. We have experienced this firsthand at least 5 times, and are comfortable in saying that Bovada will always strive to make these refunds correctly and quickly.

Outside of all these flaws, we will say that the tables are aesthetically pleasing. They come with numerous options for table color, card colors, and animations. We also enjoy the rare feature called the Rabbit Cam. This is an option that anyone can utilize to see what card WOULD have come on the turn or river if the betting had continued. While this does not serve any functional purpose, some players think it is fun to see what would have been if they stayed in the hand.

Overall Thoughts

Although Bovada is the number one poker site available to American players right now, they still have some improvements that they can make. While we enjoy their tournament selection, easy games and large player base, we really wish that they would improve their aging software and skimpy promotions.

We fear that they are not attempting to fix the issues they have, as they mainly hurt frequent and professional players. Their company motto has been to appeal to recreational players for quite some time now. Luckily for them, they do not have much competition in the US online poker market. This means that recreational players will most likely have a large website that caters to their needs for many years to come.

Get Your Hands on $1,000+ in Bonuses + Cash Back and Other Promotions

Bovada has several offers running at the moment, for both casino and sportsbook customers. Here’s what they got, and the details for each one.

Red Room

Sports Promotions

Sports Welcome Bonus

This is good for both the sportsbook and (horses) race book. You’ll get a 50% match up to $250. This has a 5x rollover. Bovada lets you use this offer in their casino, too, in which case it has a 30x rollover on both your deposit and bonus.

Horse Racing Rebates – You’ll get up to 5% back on all your racebook play every Tuesday. Here’s how that works:

Straight Wagers:

Get back 3% of all straight bets: Win, Place and Show

Place and Show wagers that pay out $2.10 or $2.20 on a $2 bet aren’t eligible for the rebate.

General Promotions

Refer-a-Friend Bonus

Earn money on every friend or family member you send to Bovada. You’ll get a 200% match on your friend’s deposit up to $100. This has a 5x sports / 5x horses / 30x casino rollover.

That wraps up their current offers. But these do change often, so we recommend bookmarking their promotions page, as well as getting signed up to their email newsletter.

Banking Options

Here are the deposit and withdrawal options Bovada accepts.

For deposits, you can use:

Visa/MasterCardHas a 4.9% fee and a $20 minimum deposit.

Rapid Transfer (MoneyGram)Deposit between $100 and $800. This has a $12-$20 fee.

Visa Gift Cards

For withdrawals, you can use:

Check by Courier

Bitcoin

Bank Wire

Rapid TransferOnly available if you made your deposit by Rapid Transfer.

You get one free check cash out per month. Every payment thereafter will cost you $50. The max you can cash out per check is $3,000.

The sucky thing is they charge a 4.9% fee on credit/debit card payments. This pales in comparison to some of the fees Ignition charges for plastic (which starts at 5.9%), but is still relatively high considering that most rooms (outside the US) don’t charge anything for debit/credit card payments.

Other than that, it’d be nice to see more banking options. But we understand this is difficult for sites like Bovada to do.

That said, Bovada has a reputation for delivering cash outs faster than any other US gambling site. Right now they’re time frames are in the 7-10 day range. That’s impressive when you consider they have far more customers and cash out requests than their competitors.

Some people might even say that – when compared to their competitors – the fact that Bovada pays their customers their winnings is impressive.

Customer Support

If you have any questions about banking, the games, promotions or anything else, you can reach Bovada by email or by phone at 1-888-263-0000.

Unfortunately, they don’t have live chat. But they’re one of the few gambling sites who reply to messages so fast live chat isn’t really needed.

Conclusion

Like we said earlier, Bovada is easily one of, if not the best gambling site for American gamblers. Hand downs. Unfortunately, they currently exclude players from five states (as seen in the image below). If you happen to reside in one of those states, we’d highly suggest BetOnline, as they accept all states and are another top choice for US residents. Check out our full BetOnline review here.

Except for customers from

Delaware ( DE )

Maryland ( MD )

New Jersey ( NJ )

Nevada ( NV )

New York ( NY )

Bovada doesn’t accept players from these states.

Bovada has a long, positive history of running fair bets and games. They have a reputation for paying their players, and paying them fast. They have integrity, too, which they’ve shown by removing potential fraudster Betsoft’s games from their site.

So, while Bovada does have a few shortcomings, they darn near look like benefits or perks compared to what many of their competitors offer. They’re that strong a gambling site.

And it’s for that reason we recommend them to all our readers. If you don’t have a sportsbook or casino account, check them out today.

You won’t regret it.

This review was made by: play-casino-games-now.com
Rating: 4.9 out of 5

Christian| 3 Nov 2018
The site is so pathetic they have to lie and lost their own “anonymous” reviews around the web. STAY AWAY. Cash back isssues, support is garbage. Algorithms for poker suck making suck outs prominent. The casino is an even bigger joke.
DO NOT PLAY HERE

Ziggy| 22 Oct 2018
Beware all online bettors. This is a very dishonest site. The TERRIBLE Customer Service agent is outsourced and located at some Call Center in the Philippines. At one point she said that she has nothing to do with Bovada. That says it all. Once a good sportsbook site has now been reduced to a SCAM. Take your money and go somewhere else.

Ralph Goldsen| 7 Oct 2018
I played on Bodog for many years and continued with Bovada when it changed its name. Payouts were always slow, I will not conduct transactions in bitcoin, but the check always came eventually. However, in 2018, I went to start the NFL season and could not log in. It took 2 hours to get a customer service person to send a password reset link. I reset my password and tested it. It worked. The next day it did not. I entered it one character at a time rather than relying on saved passwords. I think Bovada discourages people who win on balance. Or they have an incompetent IT person. Anyway, I am trying out a new website.

Ge| 2 Oct 2018
Had the same thing happened concerning a check no bank would cash, they tell me set up bitcoin blockchain requested a payout don't receive it contact them concerning the issue they send me a bogus message with a address that didn't come from me there representative is the one who walked me through the process they say if that isn't the right address their is nothing they can do about it, but every deposit and every lost wager no problem, as much money that the company is making why take my few hard earned dollars, I believe some of the workers are sending to there own blockchain accounts the customers have no proof it was ever sent, smh just bad

No Money| 9 Aug 2018
Won 6,000 on a straight flush playing let it ride..took it down to 3,000 over a couple of days and requested a withdrawal on May 23rd...got the check on June 28th and neither of my banks would cash so I had them initiate a stop payment...which they did on July 3rd...they said it would take 10 to 15 business day...I have done everything they have asked...everytime I call now they say it should be 24 to 48 hours...that started 2 weeks ago...still nothing...I did get paid 3,000 in January no problem...my thoughts are they have realized I am up 4500 overall and aren't going to pay..who knows...wont deposit anymore money..thats for sure..

joe bruin| 2 Aug 2018
I've had two winning bets cancelled due to 'line error' - interestingly I've never had a losing bet cancelled. One of the reasons given was that a 'W' was not typed before a national women's team even though that team was playing in a women's tournament. Needless to say, I am taking my business elsewhere.

therealmichaelmoore| 31 May 2018
I play Bovada just for the sports book which is Awesome. Not all sports books have a low minimum but Bovada gets this with $1 mins and low maxes. Pro bookies are better off elsewhere but I can still layoff and spread on this EZ site. Good site.

True_Soldier| 20 Feb 2018
Please DO NOT do business with Bovada. Customer service is TERRIBLE - they are difficult to work with and quite argumentative; even the supervisor, named Shavora, that I ended up speaking with was unpleasant. They may feel the same about me, but I was really trying to be fair and reasonable. Details: I had a bet that was originally settled as "void", when it should have been settled as a "win"; therefore, my winnings were not available for me to bet. Eventually, it was settled as a "win" and funds were added to my account. When I inquired about this and asked for some sort of compensation for my trouble, I suggested $100 but would have accepted less, their response was, basically, sorry we can't do anything for you; we don't believe you and don't believe that the bet was ever settled as void; and we don't care if you continue to be a customer or not. This poor review is not about losing money. I won some and lost some; lost more than I won. But anyone who gambles like this, knows that they are much more likely to lose than to win. At the time this issue occurred, I had deposited, bet and lost over $1,000 (which went to Bovada's income). Yet they were still unwilling to work with me to resolve the matter and keep my business. My issue is with their poor customer service and poor business decision

Bovada blows| 27 Jan 2018
DO NOT DEPOSIT YOUR MONEY. THIS COMPANY IS A SCAM.
I tried to withdraw my money and my bank wouldnt accept their check. I asked to be issued a new check or to have the money put back on my account and they said no.
Essentially they just kept my money. Can only imagine how rich they've gotten by writing faulty checks and keeping the money.
I emailed and called and was told theirs nothing they can do, aim just out the money

Sandy| 22 Feb 2018 Reply:
I have a suggestion, the same thing happened to me they refused to cash the check at any of my banks, so what i did was deposite it through the ATM and it posted to my account with no trouble at all.

Money Bags| 1 Feb 2018 Reply:
This site is terrible. Played with practice money to see what the big deal was, knew right away it was a scam. Deposited $100 in real money and got a bonus and built up a little bankroll and as soon as I got within 15% of my playthru started losing every hand of blackjack and every spin on the slot until I lost it all. Complete ripoff and their customer service is terrible to boot! Stay away!

Dirtyrock| 23 Jan 2018
I ask them to send me a copy of the locense from the company that regulates them. They disable my account. Bovada’s whole organization is a scam. Stay away from this ripoff of a site. They lie, cheat and steal and never process your withdrawal in the time they say they will. Save your money. Blackjack is terrible.

Billy| 25 Jan 2018 Reply:
I had the same thing happen to me. Now they tell me I can’t play until I call them. Such a scam. Stay away from this site. It is terrible and so is their customer service. I have hours of video proof and every log from my play to show how rigged their entire system is. Definitely a sham of a site.

Tommy| 18 Jan 2018
Bovada is horrible save your money. Their poker is a scam. I’ve been playing poker for twenty years and can’t tell you how many four of kinds beat a full house. Blackjack is horrible and good luck trying to withdrawal your money. Totally bogus site save your money

Blackjack Master| 24 Jan 2018 Reply:
Terrible site. All the results are pre determined based off previous betting patterns. Blackjack is embarrassing! I ask for a copy of their license from the company that regulates them and they disabled my account. Good luck getting any money from them if you do accidentally win some money. They lie cheat and steal from their customers so play at your own risk.

Poker Legend| 19 Jan 2018 Reply:
Their site is horrible! Blackjack is a complete sham. They have a built in betting pattern recognition algorithm in their software so every result is pre determined no matter how much they tell you it’s all random. They have no license from a regulated company to oversee their operation so they make the rules as they go. They take 5 seconds to process deposits but multiple days to process withdraws that’s if you ever even get it. Complete sham! Stay far away

This site sucks!| 17 Dec 2017
I have deposited $100 a day for 15 straight days. Playing nothing but blackjack. I have had ZERO winning sessions. Approximately 60% of my hands start with 12, 13, 14, 15, or 16. 75% of the double ups I try end up with me getting 12, 13, 14, 15, or 16 and dealer gets 20 or 21. Dealer averages about 6 blackjacks to my 1. This site is so rigged. They cheat and have no license from a actual regulator so they make rules as they go and answer to no one. Stay away from this scam of a site! I have hours and hours of video and blackjack logs that prove they have a built in pattern recognition algorithm for their “random” number generator. Stay away from this scam unless you like your money stolen.

Abes| 10 Dec 2017
DO NOT PLAY ON HERE UNLESS IT'S SPORTS! BLACKJACK IS A SCAM! JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE SAYS UNLESS YOU WANT TO BUST ON EVERY HAND WITH A 14,15,16 AND DEALER GETS A FACE EVERYTIME IF NOT A BLACKJACK.

Dollar dollar bills| 13 Dec 2017 Reply:
I agree! This site is a complete sham. Blackjack is so obviously rigged. Anytime you double, you get a low card and dealer gets 20 or 21. Anytime you split, the dealer ends up beating all 3 hands or tying your hands. There random number generator has a built in pattern recognition software that pre determines each hand. Stay away from this site. I have hours of videos and thousand of hands of logs that prove how big of cheats this site is.

Blackjack/Poker Dealer| 27 Nov 2017
Stay away from this cheating site. Their blackjack is a complete scam. Go play for practice and bet $1 and $5 a hand and then go bet $25, $100, $500 a hand and see how much of a difference there is in results. They have a built in algorithm in their random number generator that they use and it basically steals your money. I “lost” over $7500 in a matter of 3 minutes. Cheating thieves. Stay away!

First Timer| 15 Dec 2017 Reply:
I deposited $25 just to see what the fuss was about and holy cow. My colonoscopy wasn’t even that uncomfortable! Dealer getting 21 and 21, multiple blackjacks to my one total. I doubled down 3 times and ended up with 13 once, 15, once and 21, the one time I doubled and got 21, the dealer tied me with a 6,7, and a 8. Talk about a complete scam and ripoff! I recommend to stay away from this site. Terrible!

Poker savant| 26 Oct 2017
Lol!! Stay away from this scam of a site especially their blackjack tables. Holy crap! They don’t even try to hide the fact they are screwing you snd stealing your money. I had a run of 14 hands where I got dealt a hard 12, 13, 15, and 16 every hand where the dealer got dealt a 20 or 21. Such a scam. I can’t believe this place hadn’t been shut down for blatant cheating and stealing from their customers. I’ve played for 10 months on this site and 1000s and 1000s of blackjack hands and I have not had 1 single session. How is that random, which they tell me every time I contact them about their rigged software. Surely out of the hundred of sessions, I could walk away net positive at least once. Stay away from these cheating lying thieves. Their customer service sucks also. Whole site is a big fraud. I also know of a friend who plays. They put his name under the recent winners for over $30,000 in blackjack but he said that has never come close to happening. Stay far away!

Casino goer for 25 years| 25 Oct 2017
Stay away from this site unless you like people stealing your money. The whole site is rigged and not like you would think the house gets it share at regular casinos. They create algorithms based off your betting pattern and then hit a switch and then you are screwed. They don’t use a random number generator like the customer service tells you and they won’t send you any information on the supposed “company” that regulates them. They are a fraud and need to be shut down. Their slots are set for less than 70% return. Caution. Stay away. They are a fraud and will steal from you and laugh all the way to the bank. Just had a blackjack session where I played $25 betting a $1 hand and ended up playing 32 total hands. I’ve been playing for over 6 months and have never had a winning blackjack session. Tell me how random that is?! Cheaters

Blackjack Dealer| 25 Oct 2017
Bovada is such a scam. Stay away from this site. Their blackjack is a complete joke. Don’t believe me, go play some practice hands and tell me what you think. They are cheating thieves and will not send you any information on who regulates them. They give you some spill about Curauco licensing and regulating them and they have been doing it longer than anyone, yet they won’t send you any contact information for them. They lie, cheat, steal and make up rules as they go and don’t have to answer to anyone. Stay away unless you like throwing away your money. Rigged scam!

Card whiz| 23 Oct 2017
Stay away from this site. If you win money they won’t pay you. I deposited $100 and turned it into around $4400 and tried to withdraw some and they told me my deposit hadn’t cleared yet although they put funds into my account. After I tried to withdraw and it wouldn’t let me I went and played some more and the assholes flipped the switch on me and I lost every blackjack hand, every slot spin and every video poker hand I tried the next hour. These thieves are such a scam! They are not regulated by any company so they can steal and make up their own rules as they go without any repercussions. Do not play this site. Their blackjack game is a complete sham unless you like playing 12 and 13s against face cards all day. Such a rigged site! Do not play. They also lie about recent winners names and amounts they put up.

Dustin| 17 Oct 2017
Just had a blackjack session where I started with $50 and turned it into $150. So I decided to up my bet...haha Bovada doesn’t play that. They hit the death switch and the “ dealer” got 20 or 21, 8 out of the next 12 hands. The other 4 hands they got 14, 15, or 16 and guess what...no bust for them. While every time I got bust hands, guess what....I bust! Such a rigged cheating system. I’ve been recording all my play and requesting my logs every day and it is definitely programmed to screw you over. There is nothing random about it. Cheating thieves. Stay away from this site!

Steve| 25 Oct 2017 Reply:
I also had a similar situation. Turned $100 into $500, with a couple $100+ net Blackjack sessions. Last two, lost half of it and witnessed the dealer score 21 on probably 30% of the hands. Every time I had two tens or two aces, I ended up somehow losing to a 21. It seems they reel you in by letting you win on 3-4 straight hands (sometimes even big), then throw down the cheat hammer and steal from you the next 10 hands. Unfortunately for them, they can't cheat on sports betting so I plan to stick with that, or better yet, find another option.

Samual| 16 Oct 2017
Was playing Golden Gorilla slot and won 25 free games and then hit another 25 during those, so I had 50 free spins and won a total of $26 haha. It wouldn’t be a big deal but that has happened 3 other times also. This site is such a scam. Their blackjack game is laughably rigged. I got video proof and my game logs that prove it. Stay away unless you like your money stolen. None of the games are random and like a few other commenters, I have called and ask for their license from the regulatory company and they threatened to ban me. Cheaters!

Emily| 15 Oct 2017
Lost 8 straight hands of Bovada blackjack today. That happens I know, but lost 9 in a row in my session yesterday and 6 in a session yesterday and 11 in a session yesterday haha. This site is such a scam. Stay away and stick to brick and mortar casinos. They can’t rig the software like these sites do. You can break even or win minimal money betting $1/hand but if you try and bump it up, the death switch comes in and your screwed. Cheating thieves at this site and they have no one regulating them either. I called and ask them for a copy of a license and they threatened to ban my account lol.

Larry| 13 Oct 2017
I got the prove I need to show bovada blackjack is dealt predetermined based off your previous betting pattern and the amount you bet. I ask them to send me my logs but they would not do it and total me the crap about their random generator and integrity of their company and players. CHEATING THIEVES! Their customer service is terrible also. Stay away from this cheating website.

Sherry| 10 Oct 2017
Bovada blackjack is such a rip-off. Stay away from this site. Cheating thieves. Went from over $500 to $0 in less than 10 hands. 4 blackjacks and 4 20’s for the dealer. I got one blackjack which ended up being a tie and the rest were 12, 13, and 14s. This all happened when I had less than 5% from being finished with my playthru. They base the outcome of each game on how much you have bet previously. They figure out your betting pattern and adjust so you never win. If you want your money stolen, play here.

Stan| 4 Oct 2017
Bovada blackjack continues to be the biggest ripoff in online gambling. I just lost 18 out of 20 hands. Their software is so rigged. The random number generator is such a scam. I have deposited over $1000 the last few weeks and have played nothing but blackjack and have not had 1 single winning session. Continue to get dealt 12, 14, 15 and 16s while the dealer shows ace or “10”. Dealer gets 4 blackjacks to my 1. Half the time I get blackjack, the dealer has one also. I’m sure the rest of the site is the same. Stay away from this site unless you like to have your money stolen over and over.

Whitney| 27 Sep 2017
Bovada is such a terrible site. So rigged. Playing blackjack and they start with facecard 90% of the time while you start with a 12 90% of the time. If you do happen to get dealt a 19 or 20 you can guarantee they will end up beating you by 1 with sometimes up to 5 cards. Such a rigged scam and their customer service parrots over and over how it’s all random...yeah randomly rigged to steal from the customers. This site might be worse than ignition. Stay away from this site and especially blackjack. They will steal from you all day.

Dustin| 25 Sep 2017
Bovada is such a ripoff. Like so many others I was completely wiped out playing their rigged blackjack scam. I don't care what anyone says, they have a "doom" switch they hit and you can't win a hand to save your life unless its under a $5 bet. They are such cheating thieves and all they can tell you is it's randomly generated. If it's random how can I predict what they will get 90% of the time after I get my cards? I'm not that smart or lucky. Stay so far away from this site. I'm trying to decide who steals more, bovada or ignition...it's close!

Tom| 23 Sep 2017
Bovada is the biggest online blackjack scam ever. I ran up a $1800 bankroll over a few days and went and tried playing blackjack and they wiped me out in under 20 minutes. Hitting 4s and 5s with 16 showing and me having 20s, for 12 straight hands. Biggest scam on the internet. I have also called to verify they have no licenses to have someone regulate them so they can steal without anyone busting their ass. Stay far away! Cheating thieves.

Joey| 20 Sep 2017
Bovada is such a piece of crap rigged scam. my 18 against their 16 and they flop a 4. My 19 against their 16, they flop a 4. My 15 against their 16, they get a 5. This went on for 7 straight hands. So rigged and I called and verified and they have no licensed from a company to regulate them so they can steal money from you without no repercussions. Stay away from this scam. Such a cheating scam of a site.

Ben| 16 Sep 2017
This site is such a scam! Rigged blackjack. No winning on the slots. If you get a bonus, you win minimal. Such a ripoff and they have no license to regulate them so they answer to nobody. Poker is full of bots with aces and kings and trips getting busted 75% of the time. Stay far away. Cheating thieves.

Mike| 16 Sep 2017
Bovada is more rigged than ignition or slotslv and that is saying ALOT! You play blackjack and the dealer starts with a facecard or ace every hand. If you happen to get dealt a 19 or 20 you can guarantee that 8 out of 10 times the dealer will flip a 20 or 21 sometimes with up to 6 or 7 cards. Such a scam! Stay away from all 3 of these sites but especially Bovada. They are not licensed and have no one to regulate them cheating their customers.

Steve Erickson| 29 Aug 2017
BEWARE!!!!! This site will never pay you your winnings. EASY AS THAT.
My Bank said the check would have to go through collections as it came from a bank in China! Took 8 weeks and bounced. im out $35 fee. Plus my $200 original.

Vb| 26 Aug 2017
This is a full of fake site and fully riggedsite. I was playing tri card poker. believe it or not the cards i get are the worst single digit cards while dealer gets straights, 3 card, flush and straight flush. They brought down from $400 to $0 in 10 minutes(with$9 bet on each game). Never play on or trust this site

Brovada Blows| 26 May 2017
This is beyond the worst casino site on the face of this earth. Rigged to hell and everything about it is just trash. Roulette and blackjack are especially garbage. Played 4 straight hands of blackjack and the dealer got blackjack twice and 20 the other two times. While I'm over here with 14's and 16's. And the roulette seems to land always on the opposite choice you pick. You put money on black and odd it will land on red and even. Had this happen at least 20 times to me without winning a single cent. I'd probably lose if i put money on both red and black.. it'd land on the green 00 instead. That's how rigged this shit hole of a game is. All the bonuses are worthless because of the extreme rollovers and even the points are worthless cause once you get them, you lose them immediately towards the games since you can't win. STAY AWAY

Satyam| 4 May 2017
This site is a fraud. They are just cheating with players. Whenever a player wins in a live betting wager, they term it as void. They have some clause where they protect themselves. They are a complete fraud. I would advice people to use different site as these people will just make a fool out of you in the last.

Your Name| 1 May 2017
This site is the biggest joke ever. They lost their poker deal and just messing around with blackjack you can tell it's so rigged. This place is straight garbage and don't know how it's still around

johhnne Smithe| 16 Mar 2017
Total Bull. I have played for years. The bonus is not real without playing so much money and for so long. It was either America Card or Bovada. I was playing Black Jack and the instant I called in to get 700 of my 900 dollars everything changed. Although I prefer poker I made my living for a year at black jack in Vegas using a modified Thorpe,Revere and Julian something, I can't remember his last name maybe Braun to make up my card counting and money management. I made enough to survive on and enjoy the casinos in Vegas. So I am playing online black jack and requesting 700 of my 900. The second I did that the dealer had 10 to one black Jacks on me. The dealer drew out of almost every 12-16 and soft 17.I went from winning 50-55% of the hands to less than 5%. Just FYI. This was either Bovada or American something. They also made it almost impossible to retrieve my money. I am 60 with a background in math. I am the first to note I am not a wizz on computers. But if I wanted my money prior to the next 6 months I would have to change Bit coin. They owe me money and are basically forcing me to change my account into Bit coin. They had no problem taking my credit card, how hard is it to send me a check, decrease my credit card balance. I made the call to cash out and it was like they flipped a switch. I could only get a BJ when the dealer had an Ace up so it was always a BJ on their side so if I did not take insurane which is what the basic stradigy teels you to do then I would even lose that hand.